"I was never able to watch it live. This time I intend to."

Good morning,

These are today's quotes and interviews worth your time.

Stood out to me today: "Personally, I don't really care about the pressure."

¡Vamos!

🎤 INTERESTING INTERVIEWS

"At first, I thought it would be simpler. That it would happen overnight, or close to it. It didn't work out that way. "

Sonny Colbrelli on finally making peace with Paris-Roubaix

Sonny Colbrelli won Paris-Roubaix in 2021. The following year, a cardiac episode ended his career. He has not watched the race live since. As he told La Gazzetta dello Sport, that changes Sunday: "In the years since, I was never able to watch it live. But this time I intend to."

He is measured about what it cost him: "It still hurts. Or rather, it feels suffocating to watch former teammates, riders who rode alongside me, competing with the great champions. I wasn't able to do that anymore." The acceptance came slowly. "At first, I thought it would be simpler. That it would happen overnight, or close to it. It didn't work out that way. It took the time it took. But I'm better now." He says he watched every kilometer of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, without cutting away.

The race's hold on him hasn't faded. He describes seeing a post from Johan Museeuw — three-time Roubaix winner — who had ridden the pavé with a group and entered the famous showers at the velodrome. "You could see the plaque with my name. Things like that last. They make you understand what a historic day it was. And on top of that, I won it on debut, in mud and rain."

On his prediction for this edition: "Slightly, Mathieu van der Poel. The Roubaix course suits him more. And there's the motivation of a special milestone: nobody has ever won four times in a row."

On Filippo Ganna, he is direct: "Winning in Belgium is not like winning somewhere else. It means knowing how to grind, staying at the front constantly, beating bad luck too, as in his case, with a puncture and a broken handlebar. Despite the technical problems, he never lost his composure. After Van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar, someone like Filippo fits right in there alongside Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen."

"Do I really need to ride around here for the seventeenth time? "

Toon Aerts on crossing over to the road

Toon Aerts rode the Ronde van Vlaanderen for the first time this year at age 32, crossing over from a career as a two-time European cyclocross champion. Speaking on the Vals Plat Podcast, he did not dress up what the race did to him: "Watching it on TV in previous years, I never expected it to be that brutal. The feeling I had in my legs on Sunday — I'd never felt anything like it before."

The physical shock is one thing. The deeper story is what road cycling is giving him that cross no longer does. "I have to say, I'm gradually drifting more and more toward road cycling. Mainly because last summer, and again these last few weeks, I've been getting a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment from the road — which is something that's been harder to find in cyclocross in recent years. I've always loved cross. But I started as a junior in 2009 and since then, apart from two years, I've lined up at Niel, at the Koppenberg, at Zonhoven, every single year. And sometimes I think: do I really need to ride around here for the seventeenth time? On the road, everything is still new."

He traces the erosion of motivation directly to his doping suspension. "It's as if, after the suspension, I never fully got the joy back in cyclocross. Not completely. You win the European Championships, and that's a wonderful day I'll never forget. But that feeling of being willing to give absolutely everything for a podium or a win in cross — that's become harder since the suspension. And now I'm finding that drive again, but in a different way, on the road." The ceiling question is equally blunt: "I've won every classification at least once. There's only one thing left, the World Championships, and it's simply out of reach. Because Van der Poel is in that race."

He also contrasts what it actually feels like to be a teammate on the road versus in cyclocross. "In cyclocross — Corné van Kessel was my teammate for years — there were so many weekends where we barely spoke. You both show up in your own camper vans, you do a short course inspection but we never really did that together either. Back in the camper, on the rollers separately, on your phone. Start, race, finish, drive home — and you've said essentially nothing to your teammate the whole day. On the road it's completely different."

Aerts also describes the friction he encountered when he first arrived on the road as a 32-year-old crossover rider. "Some guys showed me respect right away because of what I'd achieved in cyclocross. But there were others who had that look — or at least that's how it felt to me sometimes — like: what's he doing here? And now he's taking a spot in the Tour of Belgium that should have been mine. But then I started riding pretty well fairly quickly."

"They all knew exactly when that train would pass."

Sep Vanmarcke on the Tour of Flanders level crossing incident

The level crossing incident at Ronde van Vlaanderen is still reverberating. The East Flanders public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation, noting that crossing a closed railroad barrier is not tolerated even in a sporting context. Sep Vanmarcke, sports director at Soudal Quick-Step, laid out why he sees mitigating circumstances for the riders involved, speaking to WielerFlits.

"Often they arrive there in a peloton at 55 kilometers per hour. The riders at the front have a clear view, but everyone else is looking at the back of the rider in front of them. And sound often gets lost in the peloton. Not everyone realizes what is happening."

He describes the split-second calculus a rider faces: "You saw on Sunday that the first riders clearly started to brake, but then you also have to quickly weigh up: do I slam on my brakes here and risk the riders behind me going down? Or do you go through? As a rider you make that choice based on your own judgment, with safety in mind. It is absolutely not the intention of the riders to make a mockery of things or deliberately break the rules."

Vanmarcke directed some of the responsibility elsewhere. "Belgian railways, Infrabel, the race organization, the police — they all knew exactly when that train would pass. I want to point to their responsibility as well."

He stopped short of blaming any single party, arguing instead for collective action: "There was no malicious intent and in a race it is not easy to always make the right decision. So let's work together to find a better solution, because cycling genuinely has a responsibility as a public example. In the future, a situation like this could happen again — so let's use this moment to collectively change something."

"I confess I shed a tear."

Tim Merlier on winning the Scheldeprijs after months of injury

Tim Merlier missed large parts of the winter and early season with a knee injury that moved from one leg to the other. He went into Scheldeprijs with only seven weeks of training behind him, and with doubts he was not hiding, as he told WielerFlits.

The win put those doubts to rest in one sprint: "Somewhere along the way you start wondering: will I ever get back to my best level? Will I have that explosiveness again? But after my win in the Scheldeprijs, those questions were gone immediately." He laughs as he says it. He also admits: "I confess I shed a tear."

He had asked his partner Cameron Vandenbroucke to be there at least ten times. "I don't know why, but that made me very happy. She had to come." On top of the personal emotion, the day carried family weight: it is thirty years since Frank Vandenbroucke, Cameron's late father, had won at the same race.

His next target is the Tour de France, with the Belgian championships in between. But the immediate problem is finding racing between now and then. "A part of the team is already building toward the Giro d'Italia and there aren't many other races. Maybe I'll go somewhere with the development team. Or the Tour of Turkey or Ronde van Limburg, if we race those with the team. The motto is: as many races as possible, but races that suit my abilities."

He also addresses the pressure he felt from his team during his return: "They were very happy I was back, and thankfully I was able to take the win."

"In a certain way, this crash also matters"

Marcel Kittel on Dylan Groenewegen's crash at Scheldeprijs

Marcel Kittel, sprint coach at Unibet Rose Rockets, saw Dylan Groenewegen go down with 7.7 kilometers to go at the Scheldeprijs. He describes the car in the moment: "You're a bit in shock: what happened? Does he get up straight away? Does he stay down? Those thoughts go through your mind in those seconds."

As he told In De Leiderstrui, Kittel does not frame the crash as a setback. "His bike is a bit broken, his shoes are broken, and his morale has taken a knock. He is disappointed, but these moments are part of it. Especially for our team and the process we are in — in a certain way, this crash also matters. These moments can happen."

The logic behind that is deliberate: "The fact that he is disappointed only proves that he was ready." Kittel was also clear about the team's positioning: "I don't think we made a mistake, because it was going well. Sometimes it comes down to small things, depending on what other riders do in the peloton. You can't change that."

"Even then, he was by far the strongest in terms of numbers."

Milan Donie on Paul Seixas's early trajectory

Paul Seixas arrived at Itzulia Basque Country as one of the most talked-about young riders of the season. His performances in the opening stages pushed the conversation into a different register.

Speaking to Sporza, former junior teammate Milan Donie placed the origin point of what the world is now watching back to the winter of 2022-2023, when Seixas joined the AG2R junior setup. "Léo Bisiaux was the big name in the team at the time, but even as a first-year junior, Paul was already producing better test results than Léo. Even then, he was by far the strongest in terms of numbers. It was already clear that this was coming."

The Tadej Pogačar comparison, Donie says, is no longer speculative. "Look at Pogačar's first year as a pro — their results are fairly comparable." He sees the gap closing fast: "I even think he's already getting close now. In Strade Bianche, Isaac del Toro was still between him and Pogačar, which created a gap. He almost came back anyway."

The trajectory he describes is not just athletic. "I always found him very mature, a very calm person. He never looked down on others. Even though he was by far the best, he never behaved arrogantly." That junior mindset translated into commitment: "That's when he realized: I can make it as a cyclist. After that, he gave everything." One specific detail makes the point: "You can see on his Strava that he does an eight-hour ride in the off-season, while most riders want to get away from the bike. That's Paul."

🏆 THE SERGE BAGUET AWARD

Not awarded today

Wonder what The Serge Baguet Award is all about? Check it out here.

💬 QUICK QUOTES

"I genuinely have no explanation for it. I want to look at the Garmin later and see what my power numbers actually were — whether it was just pure timing. I'm curious to find out." — Tim Merlier, WielerFlits, reflecting after winning the Scheldeprijs on his first race back from injury, admitting he didn't feel at his best but still found the courage to sprint to victory.

"I was pretty much at my limit before the sprint even started. I could tell when I committed that there wasn't much there. Competing for the win wasn't an option. I've had a cold dragging me down for a while now." — Jasper Philipsen, Sporza, on finishing 8th at the Scheldeprijs.

"I have a hard training week behind me with an eye on Roubaix. I would have preferred a better feeling from this race, but I'm on schedule for Sunday." — Jordi Meeus, Sporza, after finishing 14th at the Scheldeprijs.

"Several riders got launched into the air and I was among them. My back is a bit stiff, but with some physio work I'm hoping it'll be fine quickly." — Dylan Groenewegen, Sporza, on the crash that ended his chances to win the Scheldeprijs.

"In the few months I've been working with this team, we've already made some really big steps. And maybe we're even surprising ourselves a little. So what's possible in the future — that's hard to say." — Charlotte Kool, WielerFlits, reflecting on her move to Fenix-Premier Tech after winning the Scheldeprijs.

"When I saw the finish line, I told myself: no, I cannot finish second right now. After everything I'd been through since yesterday's crash — and I had targeted this stage before the race even started. So I told myself: no, after everything I've put in, all the effort that's just gone into this, I cannot give up now." — Axel Laurance, Cycling Pro Net, after winning stage 3 of the Itzulia Basque Country — his second WorldTour victory — having crashed the previous day and suffered a mechanical during the stage.

"On paper, it was maybe the easiest stage of the week, but in the legs, it was maybe the hardest. At least, that's how I experienced it." — Guillaume Martin, Cycling Pro Net, after finishing stage 3 of the Itzulia Basque Country and being part of the original breakaway.

"Honestly, people have been asking me that for a long time. Personally, I don't really care about the pressure — easy to say, I know — but look, when I have the legs, pressure or no pressure, on the bike it's not about whether you feel it or not. It's just about doing what needs to be done to win. And when you want to win, and it is — as some have said — a game for us too, we genuinely have fun on the bike. Even if it's incredibly hard — and it is incredibly hard — that's what makes this sport beautiful. I really enjoy being up there competing at the front. It's an incredible privilege and I'm making the most of every moment." — Paul Seixas, Cycling Pro Net, after stage 3 of the Itzulia Basque Country.

"Matxin was my DS two times throughout my career. He cares about his riders more than just about any director I've worked with in the European peloton, with the exception of one: Alain Gallopin, who was something fabulous and basically like my French father. But Matxin is a very close second." — Chris Horner, on his YouTube channel, reflecting on his time riding under sports manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez.

"After Dwars door Vlaanderen he didn't train much. We were strict about that and said he could only ride again once he felt good again. The last two days that was the case again. He'll join the team's Paris-Roubaix reconnaissance on Thursday and after that we'll see if he can start." — Pieter Vanspeybrouck, sports director at Lotto-Intermarché, WielerFlits, giving an update on Arnaud De Lie's condition after illness forced him to miss the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

"What those people are doing can be life-threatening. Imagine what happens if a rider hits one of those holes. They ride over these sectors at 50 kilometers per hour." — Thierry Gouvenou, Paris-Roubaix race director, Domestique, warning about deliberate cobblestone removal on the Trouée d'Arenberg sector ahead of the race.

That's it for today. See you tomorrow 👋

Jay